Black Keys

by Rose B Mashal

  “I’m not sure if I should,” I whispered back.

  “What does your heart say?”

  “To go for it,” I replied. “But my mind knows it’s not right, I could get hurt, real bad. I always follow my mind.”

  “It’s mostly the right way to do things,” he whispered. “But then you would never find out how much fun it could be, proving to your mind how wrong it is, and that your heart is a better judge sometimes.”

  I gulped.

  The prince’s right hand squeezed the back of mine as he tangled our fingers together then pushed me gently towards Thunder, following right behind me. Our joined hands rose up with the prince’s guidance and slowly my fingers were touching Thunder’s thick coat. I gasped once my fingertips made contact with his body, turning to look at the prince once again. He was smiling softly then he nodded encouragingly.

  “He’s so soft,” I said to myself when I looked back at my fingers that were touching Thunder. He truly was, and I just adored the sight of our fingers laced together as they moved all over Thunder’s back and his black coat. The prince’s hand guided mine for a minute, teaching me silently about the kind of pressure I should use over his body. When I raised my left hand to do the same as my right one, the prince’s hand left mine and settled on my hip. Then both of his hands were on my hips, keeping us close enough that our bodies were almost touching. Like, really, really almost.

  The feel of Thunder’s body shuddering the slightest bit under my fingers was something I couldn’t put in words. It was really magnificent, to touch this strong, powerful creature and find it so soft that way…I was speechless.

  The prince started telling me about Thunder’s pedigree: his father was a purebred Arabian horse and his mother was English–making him a breed called Thoroughbred, one of the most expensive horses in the whole world. It has the genes of both breeds, making it the strongest, fastest and the most beautiful. I was really enjoying the informative facts he was telling me, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that horses were the prince’s passion. I kind of...liked it.

  “He won three international races in a row in Derby, in Great Britain,” the prince said, and I turned my head to look at him in amazement. “I was riding him,” he winked.

  Gah! Not again with the winking! Not while you’re so close…

  “Impressive,” I said, and when the smug look was back on his stupidly-beautiful face I turned my head to look at the horse again. “Good boy, Thunder.”

  “Uh, I was riding him, you know?” He said again.

  “So?” I asked innocently, not looking at him.

  “Um, nothing,” he sighed, and I smiled to myself, happy that I was able to stop him in his attempt to make me stroke his ego.

  Men!

  When I touched the hair on Thunder’s head, he leaned down and rubbed the top of his head on my chest, earning a squeal from my mouth and a continuous stroking from my hand to his head.

  “I think he likes me,” I said, flashing the prince a wide grin.

  “How could he not, Beautiful Princess?” He smiled, his hands tightening on my hips and his eyes telling me things I didn’t want to hear, because it was more than scary to believe them. I looked away, busying myself with Thunder once again.

  “Isn’t it fun?” the prince asked a minute later.

  “What?”

  “To prove your mind wrong and your heart right?”

  I refused to reply, and he didn’t ask again. He sighed, then offered, “Would you like a ride?”

  “Can I?” Disbelief at the possibility and the excitement I felt for the idea filled my voice.

  “Of course,” he smiled softly.

  “Oh, my God!” I said excitedly. “Yes, please!”

  His smile grew and he nodded. “Give me a minute to prepare him.”

  I squealed and clapped my hands in delight.

  The prince took a few minutes to put the saddle on Thunder’s back. He then untied him, securing the reins around the leather saddle and the stirrups.

  “Come on, Princess. He’s all yours,” the prince smiled, offering me his hand.

  I squealed again and took his hand, my other hand fisting the long robe I was wearing in my hand, then put my foot in the stirrup. I stumbled on my clothes and if it weren’t for the prince’s strong hands catching me, I would’ve fallen. I tried three more times, the last time sending the feeling of lost hope to my heart. I wasn’t going to be able to ride after all.

  “Forget it,” I said in disappointment. “It’s not going to happen, not in these clothes.”

  The prince pressed his lips in a tight line and stayed quiet for a minute before he spoke again. “Take them off.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Take the abaya off, Princess.”

  “You mean this?” I pointed to the robe.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you realize what I’m wearing underneath this?” I wasn’t going to wander around the royal stable wearing a little nightgown!

  He grinned. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

  I rolled my eyes at him but couldn’t help my smile. “I can’t walk around wearing that,” I shook my head.

  “Who said you would?” he asked. He dropped the reins that were in his hand and the next thing I knew, he was taking off his shirt. “Here, wear this,” he offered it to me and I just eyed it. “It’s clean, I promise. I took a shower while you were sleeping.” A grin. “I know you’re desperate to wear it–you were trying to take it off me all the while I was carrying you here.”

  “I was not!” I gasped. “I am not!”

  “It’s fine, Princess,” he said. “I know you could get on top of Thunder if you tried harder while still wearing the abaya, but you just want to see me half naked.”

  “What on earth?” I gasped again, trying to hide my laughs. “You’re not funny.”

  “Of course, that’s why you’re laughing.”

  I shook my head and grabbed the shirt from his hand. “Okay, turn around,” I told him, making a circle with my pointer finger.

  “What?” he protested. “I’ve already seen you in it!”

  “Yeah, and you were NOT a gentleman about it. Not at all.”

  “Not true! I never said anything impolite!”

  “Your eyes did, and your head as well. You had thoughts about me.”

  “It’s my head!”

  “Turn. Around.”

  The prince huffed, “Fine.” Then he grinned but didn’t turn around. “I can close my eyes and see everything I want. Huh!”

  I crossed my arms in front of my chest and glared half-heartedly at him. He closed his eyes, still facing me. “Oh! I can see that you’ve already taken off the abaya but mistakenly took the gown with it.” He paused, nodding with his eyes still closed. “Nice!”

  “Ugh! Unbelievable!” I took a step farther and put my hand on his shoulders, turning him around myself while smiling wide and big at his playful nature–a side of him that I had just discovered less than two hours ago–wondering how many other sides of him I’d yet to see, and wondering if I’d ever get to see them all, or if I’d like them like I secretly liked this one.

  Wait…I like this one?

  Ah! Shoot me now, I’m going insane.

  “All right, all right,” he chuckled, and I was about to take the abaya off when he stopped me with a “Wait.”

  I frowned as I saw him take a step closer to the door while looking up. I looked at what he was gazing at, to see that there was a small camera–with a very tiny red lamp–on the top of the door frame that I hadn’t noticed at all. The prince raised his right hand, motioned with it to the side, then closed his fingertips to each other and left them like that for a moment. I didn’t understand what he was doing until after I saw the camera’s lens as it moved to the side, before the red light disappeared, announcing that the camera was turned off.

  He was ‘talking’ to the one behind the camera…Huh!

  “Go on, Princess,” he said wi
th his back turned to me. His back that I stared at a little bit longer than I was supposed to, or at all, while I smiled widely as I took the abaya off, then–out of nowhere–brought the shirt to my face and inhaled deeply.

  I smelled protection and safety.

  “My God! This is amazing!” I said, raising my hands to the sky. Enjoying my ride so much. More than I ever thought I would. “Can he go faster?” I asked the prince, who was walking beside Thunder with the reins in his hand, as we walked around the garden we’d seen when we first came out of the tunnel.

  He gave me a look that translated into ‘Duh!’ and then smiled when I rolled my eyes. “I meant, could you get him to go faster than this? I wanna see how it would feel.”

  The prince shook his head. “It’s risky, you could fall.”

  “Oh, please?” I whined. “I’m going to be fine.”

  “No, you won’t. I wouldn’t be able to catch you or stop it if he goes faster.”

  I actually pouted like a little kid, then a thought crossed my mind. “Can’t you, like, ride with me or something?” I suggested.

  His eyes shot to mine. “What?” he asked. “I mean, yeah, I can, but…are you sure? It won’t bother you or make you uncomfortable?”

  I frowned. Why would it bother me? I shook my head in reply.

  I was able to see his Adam’s apple as it bobbed up and down as he swallowed, his gaze locked with mine for a second before he nodded.

  “Yes, I’m sure!”

  It was only when I moved forward a little, and the prince settled himself behind me, that I knew what he’d meant by his question about if it would bother me or not. He was close. Really close. My back was pressed firmly to his naked chest and his head was right beside mine. I could almost feel his heartbeat.

  Oh, dear God…

  “Hold on to this,” he said after a minute, moving my right hand to the saddle horn, my left hand following next. His tone held something thick in it, but I couldn’t tell what it was.

  The prince then held the reins tightly with his right hand, positioning it in the middle and not on the side. His elbow pressed tightly to my stomach as he pushed me back even more into his body, causing my heartbeat to race even faster. His left hand touched my hair that was over my shoulders and back, and he moved it all to my left shoulder, tucking some behind my ear while I sat still, fighting with my heart to settle down a bit–I didn’t want it to burst out of my chest, yet.

  The same hand that had gathered my hair and put it aside moved down and around my body, holding me as firmly as he was holding the reins if not even more. His elbow was now pressed to the back of his left hand that was above my stomach.

  I think it was then that my breath started to hitch, especially when I felt his own breath fanning over my skin, right on that soft spot behind my ear as he whispered, “Hold on tight, Beautiful Princess.”

  It seemed like screaming was all I was able to do. Well, aside from laughing, chuckling, gasping and squealing.

  Riding Thunder was really fun, more than I ever thought it would be. It was better than riding a roller coaster; as a matter of fact, it was better than any ride I had ever been on in an amusement park. God! It was magical!

  I could easily hear the prince’s chuckle in my ear every time I screamed. I was really glad that my screaming didn’t make him deaf, because my own ears were already buzzing with them, and I was pretty sure my voice would be hoarse when this ride ended. I didn’t want it to end. Ever.

  “This is so good!” I cried out. We were now far from the stable and the garden; there was light-golden sand all around us, everywhere I looked it was desert. A beautiful desert, that shone under the light of the full moon, and the magnificent sight that was made by the mountains as they hugged it on either side of us.

  “Will we find our way back?” My mind, that never stopped working for a minute of my life, begged me to ask the question after a long while of more laughter and gushing.

  “Don’t worry, Princess,” the prince said in my ear. “I know this desert like the back of my hand.” His voice, like every time he spoke–which were few–sent shivers down my spine.

  “Can you make him go faster?”

  Without replying to me, the prince’s hand tightened on the rope and pulled a bit. His legs, which were stuck to mine, tapped Thunder’s sides and he went faster. I squealed louder.

  The cool breeze that was blowing on my face kept messing up my hair and I was glad that it was all on my left shoulder while the prince’s head stayed on my right one, because my hair would’ve blinded him for sure.

  “Oh, my God!” I cried. “Faster, faster!” This time, the prince’s hand tightened over my stomach, and I think his breath hitched a little. I wondered if going faster was trying to him or something. Thunder didn’t go any faster, though.

  “Faster, please!”

  I felt the side of his jaw press tightly to my neck for a moment as he panted into my skin. I was pretty sure I heard him dropping an F-bomb under his breath, before he pulled the reins tighter this time and pulled up. His hand held me tightly as Thunder stood on his back legs and raised his front legs up and then dropped them to the left, his steps fumbling a little until he stilled eventually and his strong whinnying stopped.

  I felt the breeze hit my back as the prince left me abruptly, and I found myself sitting alone on Thunder’s back, confused like I’d never been before.

  “Why did we stop?” I asked.

  “I–uh, I think we should walk a little, enjoy the sights, you know?” the prince replied awkwardly, looking anywhere but at me.

  Did I do something wrong?

  I didn’t say anything as we walked pretty much the same way we had in the garden, with me on Thunder’s back and the prince holding his reins and walking next to us.

  The weather was a bit chilly, but was amazingly wonderful; the nature surrounding me was something to behold, to admire and…love. Everything around me was beauty on its own: the desert, the moon, the stars…the prince.

  I sighed and just continued doing what I was doing: riding Thunder. The prince was silent for a long while, and I didn’t like it. I wished he would talk, but I didn’t know how to get him to talk to me. I also didn’t know why I wanted it that badly, and why his silence was bothering me. I just sighed again and said nothing.

  Thunder slowed down and started sniffing the ground, not really moving anymore.

  “I come here often; he thinks I came to spend some time here,” the prince explained. “I’ll make him go on in a minute, don’t worry.”

  “No,” I said. “It’s nice here. We can stay for a few minutes. I mean, if you’re okay with it?”

  “Of course, Princess. Whatever you like,” he smiled softly.

  The prince helped me off of Thunder when I asked him to, and the feel of the cool sand underneath my bare feet was something else. It felt even better than the sand you’d find on beaches. This one was dry and so incredibly soft, softer than powdered sugar and gentler than cotton touch.

  “So? What do you do around here?” I asked after a moment, as I sat on a smallish rock near the mountain we settled beside.

  The prince shrugged, “Not much: stargazing, mountain climbing. I just like the quietness here.”

  “Mountain climbing? That must be fun,” I told him.

  “It is,” he smiled, letting go of Thunder’s reins and patting him strongly on the back.

  “Can we do it now?”

  “Do what? Climb the mountain?”

  I nodded frantically.

  “You’re barefoot!”

  “It’s no big deal.”

  “I’m not sure…”

  “Oh, come on! Please?”

  “Okay, wear my flip-flops then.”

  “I’m not going to wear those, no way!”

  The prince chuckled at my reply. “All right, I’ll go without them as well.”

  I just smiled and shrugged. “Will he be okay?” I asked, pointing in Thunder’s direction.

>   “Yes, he’ll be fine, he’s used to it.”

  To be honest, I wasn’t sure myself if I could handle climbing the mountain barefooted, but once I started doing it, I was sure it wouldn’t be hard at all. It didn’t feel very uncomfortable underneath my feet like I’d thought it would–it was actually okay. It was hard, but wasn’t edgy or sharp. As a matter of fact, it felt kind of smooth, like marble more than rocks, and I enjoyed it just like every other thing I had enjoyed that night.

  “Uh, Princess?” the prince called from behind me and I turned to look at him. “I think it’s better if I go first.”

  I frowned, then finally remembered I was actually in his shirt, that made it only to the middle of my thighs, and given that I was on a rock that was higher than the one the prince was standing on….

  Oh, my God!

  My face went red as the blush covered it and I bit my bottom lip, embarrassed and shy and not really knowing how to react or what to say.

  The prince must’ve seen the look on my face because he continued, “I just want to lead the way.” I really hoped that he was telling the truth, and it wasn’t the fact that he was able to see up my nightie and shirt, and was just trying to be a gentleman. But then I thought, maybe he really couldn’t see anything after all and was telling the truth. He was a total pervert when it came to things like that and liked to tease me about it.

  Well, I liked that thought better.

  I nodded and let him lead the way.

  By the time we made it to the top of the mountain my legs and thighs were aching a bit–not so much that I couldn’t handle it, but not as if I had done nothing. I made a mental note that I should go back to working out often. Well, if I ever found the time for it, that is.

  “Wow!” was all I could say. The sight from the top of the mountain was better than anything I’d even seen in this kingdom: it was the kingdom itself.

  Not better than the sight of the prince with Salma and Thunder, but still…

  From my spot, I was able to see the tiny lights of the city in the very far distance, the city that I knew to be the capital of the kingdom. It was an amazing view; all I could see were organized lights and neat buildings that looked so tiny I could fit them between my thumb and pointer finger–but it looked fantastic nonetheless.